Ok I didn't use spell check and spelled CackleBerry wrong on the title. Not sure how to fix it but you know what I meant.
It's almost done!!!!!
I have to explain the name. Growing up my dad would make a yummy breakfast of pancakes and "cackle berries" (aka eggs- usually scrambled). The name has stuck ever since.
I have been so excited all winter to post my coop on BYC and now that it is nearly done (needs the final touches) I wanted to share it with my fellow chicken lovers.
After one of our first big snow storms I was getting really antsy to start this project. I love the winter and snow but I know spring fever will hit hard around January and February so I wanted to get started on the structure early so I could work on the finishing touches when the "fever" hit. My husband and I started this project not knowing too much about wood working but enough to be dangerous. My brother-in-law spent many many hours and weekends coming over to teach and help build the coop. My nephews and niece came over some of the weekends to help paint and made the project just that much more fun.
So this was the beginning project... We used a lot of scrap wood hanging around the house, gift cards to a used building supply shop in town, siding left over from siding our house, shingles left over from our house as well, left over house paint from painting our house last year, linoleum flooring, for easy cleaning, also left over from our house, and there was a couple of visits to the hardware store for the rest.
Our goal was to match the house as much as possible, except the cool "x" my brother-in-law made for the door to make it look more like a barn
Warning this makes a big mess out of the garage! It will also get your car kicked out of the garage for a month or so.
We decided on one large nesting box since we are planning on only 3-4 chickens for our first flock. We decided we can always add a second hole and place a divider if we want 2. A interesting fact I did read about nesting boxes is they like to crawl back a ways into the darkest corner, that is why we also chose to do one large nesting box. My father-in-law who has been raising chickens on a small farm for a long time said that his chickens wait their turn and they all know when it is their time to use the few nests.
There are some final touches that need to be completed on the coop such as adding vents for good ventilation, final touches with the paint, and of course finishing the chicken wire around the run. The entire end (right side of run) is a large hinged door that will be used to let the ladies out during the day and also make it easier for me to clean and have access to their water and food.
This forum was very helpful to me in building mine and I hope that my design will give others a little inspiration as well.
We are planning on picking up or chicks the 27th of February, and I am just crazy excited. We have been working on the Brooder now and after the chicks are here and happy will complete the final touches on the coop. Can't wait to post the chicks first pics.
It's almost done!!!!!
I have been so excited all winter to post my coop on BYC and now that it is nearly done (needs the final touches) I wanted to share it with my fellow chicken lovers.
After one of our first big snow storms I was getting really antsy to start this project. I love the winter and snow but I know spring fever will hit hard around January and February so I wanted to get started on the structure early so I could work on the finishing touches when the "fever" hit. My husband and I started this project not knowing too much about wood working but enough to be dangerous. My brother-in-law spent many many hours and weekends coming over to teach and help build the coop. My nephews and niece came over some of the weekends to help paint and made the project just that much more fun.
So this was the beginning project... We used a lot of scrap wood hanging around the house, gift cards to a used building supply shop in town, siding left over from siding our house, shingles left over from our house as well, left over house paint from painting our house last year, linoleum flooring, for easy cleaning, also left over from our house, and there was a couple of visits to the hardware store for the rest.
Our goal was to match the house as much as possible, except the cool "x" my brother-in-law made for the door to make it look more like a barn
Warning this makes a big mess out of the garage! It will also get your car kicked out of the garage for a month or so.
We decided on one large nesting box since we are planning on only 3-4 chickens for our first flock. We decided we can always add a second hole and place a divider if we want 2. A interesting fact I did read about nesting boxes is they like to crawl back a ways into the darkest corner, that is why we also chose to do one large nesting box. My father-in-law who has been raising chickens on a small farm for a long time said that his chickens wait their turn and they all know when it is their time to use the few nests.
There are some final touches that need to be completed on the coop such as adding vents for good ventilation, final touches with the paint, and of course finishing the chicken wire around the run. The entire end (right side of run) is a large hinged door that will be used to let the ladies out during the day and also make it easier for me to clean and have access to their water and food.
This forum was very helpful to me in building mine and I hope that my design will give others a little inspiration as well.
We are planning on picking up or chicks the 27th of February, and I am just crazy excited. We have been working on the Brooder now and after the chicks are here and happy will complete the final touches on the coop. Can't wait to post the chicks first pics.
